FIGHT WEEK

Amir Khan and Kell Brook finally meet Saturday in England. Also, unbeaten middleweight contender Jaime Mungia faces D’Mitrius Ballard in Tijuana, Mexico.

Amir Khan (34-5, 21 KOs) vs. Kell Brook (39-3, 27 KOs)

When: Saturday, Feb. 19 Time: 1 p.m. ET / 10 a.m. PT (main event later in show) Where: AO Arena, Manchester, England TV/Stream: ESPN+ (pay-per-view in U.K.) Division: Welterweight Rounds: 12 At stake: No titles Pound-for-pound ranking: None Odds: Brook 1½-1 favorite (average of multiple outlets) Also on the card: Natasha Jonas vs. Chris Namus, junior middleweights (for vacant WBO title); Charlie Schofield vs. Germaine Brown, super middleweights Prediction: Brook KO 8 Background: Finally. Khan and Brook, two of the best British fighters of that past few decades, have spoken about fighting for another for almost as long. They’ll meet at long last near the ends of their careers. Khan is a former junior welterweight titleholder known for his quickness and weak chin, which has failed him in four of his five losses. He was stopped by Breidis Prescott, Danny Garcia, Canelo Alvarez and Terence Crawford. He has a strong resume – with victories over Marco Antonio Barrera, Paulie Malignaggi, Marcos Maidana, Zab Judah, Luis Collazo and Devon Alexander – but he hasn’t had a significant victory since he outpointed Chris Algieri in 2015. The 35-year-old from Bolton is coming off a fourth-round knockout of veteran Billy Dib in July 2019, which means he will have been out of the ring for more than 2½ years. Brook, also 35, was a borderline pound-for-pounder when he outpointed Shawn Porter to win a major welterweight title in 2014 and made three successful defenses. However, that was followed by back-to-back knockout losses to Gennadiy Golovkin at middleweight and Errol Spence Jr. back at welterweight in 2016 and 2017, after which he was never the same. He last fought in November 2020, when Crawford stopped him in four rounds.

 

Jaime Munguia (38-0, 30 KOs) vs. D’Mitrius Ballard (21-0-1, 13 KOs)

When: Saturday, Feb. 19 Time: 9 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. PT (main event later in show) Where: Plaza Monumental, Tijuana TV/Stream: DAZN Division: Middleweight Rounds: 12 At stake: No titles Pound-for-pound ranking: None Odds: NA Also on the card: William Zepeda vs. Luis Viedas, lightweights; Rafael Espinoza vs. Alie Laurel, featherweights Prediction: Munguia KO 9 Background: Munguia, the former junior middleweight beltholder, is marching steadily toward a shot at a middleweight championship. The 25-year-old Mexican won his 154-pound title by stopping Sadam Ali in 2018 and making five successful defense before moving up to 160, at which he’s 4-0 against good opposition. He’s coming off a wide-decision victory over veteran Gabriel Rosado this past November. He’ll be fighting in his hometown for the first time since 2017. Ballard, 28, is a solid opponent. The product of the Washington, D.C. area was an amateur standout who fought in the 2012 U.S. Olympic Trials, turning pro the following year. He’s unbeaten as a pro – with only a draw against Yamaguchi Falcao in 2019 – but has never faced an opponent the caliber of Munguia as a professional. Ballard is coming off a one-sided unanimous 10-round decision over Paul Valenzuela Jr. on the Munguia-Rosado card. He has fought outside the United States only once, in Canada in 2016.

Also fighting this weekend: Lightweight prospect Jamaine Ortiz (14-0-1, 8 KOs) will face Nahir Albright (14-1, 7 KOs) in a scheduled 10-round bout Friday in Orlando, Florida, on Showtime. Also, Saturday in Ekaterina, Russia, former three-division titleholder Jorge Linares (47-6, 29 KOs) will take on Zaur Abdullaev (14-1, 8 KOs) in a scheduled 12-round fight.